Dark Serendipity
by magicsunbeam
Summary: Fate plays a mojor part, as Jack and Sam return from a funeral.


Title: Dark Serendipity  
  
Author: Magicsunbeam  
  
Email: magicsunbeam@ntlworld.com  
  
Category: action/drama/angst/H&C..You name it.  
  
Pairing: Jack & Sam (just)  
  
Rating: G  
  
Season/sequel: 4. Small spoiler for Divide and Conquer.  
  
Summary: Chance plays a major hand, when returning from a funeral, Jack and Sam run into trouble. Big trouble.  
  
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property  
  
of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions; all  
  
the powers that be, not me; This story is for entertainment purposes only  
  
and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement intended. The story  
  
is the property of the author and may not be posted without the author's  
  
consent.  
  
Authors Notes: 90.000.000 thanx to Hoodat, for beta`ing this for me. You're awesome, Cap'n.  
  
Some things in life hold no rhyme or reason. Some things come down to cruel fate. For those times in life, the lucky ones have only to reach out a hand to find, they are surrounded by friendship.  
  
For Annie.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
*** Okay, I'm not sure if this is such a good idea anymore. ***  
  
"No need to be nervous Jack, it'll be okay. You'll see."  
  
*** No really, I'm *really* not sure this is such a good idea anymore. ***  
  
"Would you quit it already? It's not like it's a date. It's a funeral for cryin` out loud. Just chill out, you're only showing a friend some support. Nothing's going to happen."  
  
*** *I* know nothing's going to happen, but what will other people think? `Oh yeh, there goes O'Neill. Drops his first downtime in 3 weeks, to travel half way across the state with his 2IC, for the funeral of someone he doesn't even know? ` ***  
  
" Stop being so damned dramatic, it's only a three hour drive. And since when do you care about what "they" think?"  
  
-------------------  
  
"Colonel? Sir, are you okay?"  
  
His attention snapping back to the present, Jack jumped as if someone had twanged an elastic band off his ass.  
  
"Whoa! Carter. Made me jump there." He grinned, embarrassed.  
  
Carter tried to keep a straight face. "Are you okay, Sir?" she repeated.  
  
" Ah yeahsureyabetcha. You ready to go?"  
  
"I'm all yours," she confirmed.  
  
Jack tried desperately not to flinch, as he took her overnight bag and waved her toward the car.  
  
"After you, Major."  
  
Sam looked at him in amused puzzlement. `Okay Sam, heads up. Something's going on here, ` she told herself.  
  
Jack took his time putting the bag in the trunk.  
  
*** "I'm all yours?" ***  
  
" She meant she was ready to go, nothing more."  
  
***Aw crap. ***  
  
"Okay Jack, enough. They say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness. So just shut the hell up."  
  
--------------------------- The first hour into the journey was spent in companionable silence. Jack drove; Sam looked out of the window, lost in her own thoughts. Eventually boredom niggled its way in and Jack began to fiddle, first with the mirrors, then the dashboard compartment and eventually the radio. Never settling on any one station, he flicked through several. Just as Sam thought he was happy with one, he'd flick to another.  
  
When for the umpteenth time, Jack reached for the dial; Sam slapped his hand away.  
  
"Enough, Sir. Please. You're driving me nuts!" she scolded. "Just relax and enjoy the scenery."  
  
"Aaw, for cryin' out loud Carter. They're *trees*! This is boring."  
  
"Then let me drive. You can try and sleep."  
  
"Noooo, that would be infinitely worse. The only thing worse than a long journey, is a long journey in a passenger seat."  
  
Carter smiled softly.  
  
Looking at her hands, she hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry, Sir. I really appreciate you're wasting down time for me."  
  
Jack glanced across at her, saw the discomfort she was now feeling and inwardly cursed himself.  
  
"No Carter, I'm sorry. I know this is a hard time for you, with Jacob not being able to come and all. I wanted to come. Honest Injuns."  
  
Sam grinned, "Honest Injuns?"  
  
Relieved by the shift in tension, Jack rolled his eyes comically.  
  
"That was a little something Nan used to come out with. Before the world became politically correct."  
  
"Ah," Sam nodded her understanding. "Old folks come up with the best sayings. Aunt Jessie used some real beauties too."  
  
Sam fell silent again and when Jack glanced across, he could see the ghost of a smile on her lips.  
  
"Tell me about Aunt Jessie," he invited.  
  
Carter grinned, "Are you sure you want to know?"  
  
He returned Sam's grin. "If it's going to take my mind off the fact we have another 30,000 miles of *trees* ahead of us then, oh yeah. I want to know." The grin suddenly disappeared and in all seriousness, he repeated: "I *want* to know, Carter."  
  
"Okay," Sam replied, settling herself into her seat. "But remember, you asked."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Three hours, not quite 30,000 miles of trees and a lot of reminiscing later, Jack pulled the car up onto an ordinary looking driveway, on the outskirts of Gypsum.  
  
He looked across at Sam, when she made no attempt to get out of the car. He waited patiently until she turned and looked at him, sadness swamping her blue eyes.  
  
"You going to be okay?" he asked, with a gentleness that surprised Sam.  
  
"Yeah, its just there are a lot of memories here."  
  
"I know how you feel," he replied, meaning it. "I've been here, done this, didn't want the T-shirt."  
  
Before Sam could answer, movement from the porch made them both look up. A small, elderly looking woman stood, squinting into the fading light. She smiled when she realised who it was on her driveway.  
  
"Aww, heck," Sam muttered under her breath.  
  
"What's that, Carter?" Jack asked, puzzled by her obvious despair.  
  
Sighing heavily, she replied, "Nothing, Sir."  
  
She then got out of the car and climbed the steps, into the woman's open arms. Jack stayed where he was, not wanting to intrude. After a few moments, Sam turned and gestured for him to join them.  
  
"Sir, I'd like you to meet dad's cousins wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, this is my CO, Colonel Jack O'Neill."  
  
"Ma`am. It's a pleasure to meet you." Jack smiled, taking the woman's hand.  
  
"Now Colonel, let me tell you. It's not every day a woman of my age gets to meet a handsome young man. The pleasure is mine, believe me and please, call me Tiddy. Hardly anyone does." She laughed, delighted at her own joke.  
  
Jack's face cracked into a huge grin. "Tiddy?"  
  
"Oh just a name my late husband gave me when I was younger. I only drag it out on special occasions these days."  
  
Jack laughed. "Why Tiddy, are you flirting with me?"  
  
The woman merely winked in his direction and turned for the door.  
  
`Oh boy` Jack thought, `this is going to be fun. `  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Tiddy stuck close to Jack for the rest of the evening, even though she knew he had her sussed from the word go. What amused him more than anything was the fact she also knew her actions were making Sam squirm with embarrassment.  
  
She took further pleasure in making her young cousin blush, by revealing pet names and secrets Sam had when she was younger. It was only when Sam excused herself and went out onto the back porch that the woman eventually took pity on her and ceased her teasing.  
  
Jack gave Sam some time on her own, before following her out. He found her curled up on large wicker chair. A large silver moon hung over the mountains, bathing them in a ghostly light, picking out the evergreens on a snowy incline. Saying nothing to disturb the quiet mood, he sat himself down on a chair beside her and took in the breathtaking view.  
  
Eventually, he let out a dramatic sigh. "More trees."  
  
Sam snorted, letting out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. "Yes, I know, Sir. It's a damn nuisance, but they tend to grow around wooded areas."  
  
Jack grinned in the darkness.  
  
Sarcasm.  
  
Carter was really starting to hold her own.  
  
"You know she's doing that deliberately, don't you?" he asked, referring to the old woman's taunting.  
  
"Oooooh yeah," Sam smiled. "I know. It just gets a little stale after 25 years."  
  
Jack pulled a face. "Ouch."  
  
"Mmm, you should have seen her in action whenever I brought a boyfriend up, to meet her and Jessie. Between them, they were a teenage girls worst nightmare." Sam chuckled. "Have you heard of the phrase, "You can't take her anywhere?" Well Sir, let me tell you, I can't leave her either!"  
  
A voice from behind them, made them both jump.  
  
"Ahh, but Sammy, you wouldn't want to leave me."  
  
Sam laughed, as the older woman wrapped her in a warm embrace and grinned at her, mischief shining in her eyes.  
  
"No Tiddy," she agreed. "I wouldn't."  
  
"Alright, I'm going up to bed now. Don't you two be staying up too late either." The smile disappeared from the old woman's face, as she added. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."  
  
Jack waited until he was sure Tiddy had gone, before he turned to Sam.  
  
"Will she be okay here, on her own?"  
  
"Oh, don't let the elderly lady look fool you, Sir. She's tough and she's not alone. There are more of dad's family in these parts. They'll make sure she's okay. You'll get to meet them tomorrow."  
  
"Ah. I feel I should be warned here, Carter. Are there anymore like her?"  
  
Sam giggled. "No, Sir. There's only one Tiddy Carter."  
  
Jack grinned. "Aw now you see, *that's* a shame."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The funeral was like any other funeral, sombre and thought provoking. The Pastor made a very nice speech, telling everyone what a kind, loving and above all - *funny* lady Jessie was. Sam got up and told a couple of anecdotes about her Aunt, and by the time the service was over, Jack regretted having not met Jessie. He couldn't help but think that meeting Tiddy had been like meeting one half of Hope & Crosby.  
  
Sam's original arrangement with Tiddy had been for her and Jack to stay another day. However, watching him after the service and seeing how uncomfortable he was in the company of strangers, Sam couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She managed to break away from the crowd long enough to get Jack alone.  
  
"Sir, I've been thinking. Tiddy has a lot of family around her now. What say we go home today?"  
  
"Are you sure? You did tell her you'd stay."  
  
"I know Sir, but she's going to be okay. She doesn't need anyone to hold her hand."  
  
"You're sure, Carter?"  
  
"Mm." Sam nodded.  
  
Thirty minutes later, they were in the car and heading home.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
15.00 hours found the pair half way home. Sam was pleased to get the funeral behind her. She was almost as pleased to note that Jack was decidedly more relaxed about the return journey.  
  
Day dreaming, Sam had noticed that traffic on the road was sparse. The lack of cars made the place seem more natural.  
  
She grinned and thought. `Just trees, trees and more trees.`  
  
"Sooo Carter, just when were you going to tell me about Cousin Maurice's `secret`?"  
  
Quickly regaining her composure, Sam took out a Kleenex, and began to mop up the coffee she had just spurted all over the dashboard.  
  
"I'm sorry Sir, really I am." She giggled. "I should have noticed he had an `eye` on you."  
  
"Okay, Carter. That is *sooo* not funny. In fact, almost as not funny as finding the guys glass eye in my drink!"  
  
"Okay really. I'm sorry, I should have warned about Maurice's - sense of humour. But you know, his pulling a joke like that means he likes you."  
  
"Oooh, he *likes* me. Well then, Carter that makes all the diffe."  
  
When it came, it was a complete surprise to Jack. One minute he was driving along, ribbing his 2IC about her family's questionable sanity. The next thing he knew, a million tiny shards of windshield was coming at him. His immediate reflex was to pull the wheel away from whatever had hit them. He wasn't aware of being thrown back in his seat with a force that physically ripped his breath away. He *was* sickeningly aware of the car skidding away from him, of it lifting bodily off the road, of the world outside flipping upside down. Of Carter's panicked cry.  
  
Then there was nothing. Except thick, silent, blackness.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Try as she might, Sam couldn't recall the party. It must have been a humdinger, to have earned herself a hangover *this* bad. Her head felt as if were trying to levitate off her shoulders and she swore she could hear birds singing. She allowed herself a small smile, picturing the tiny birds that used to fly round the heads of the drunks, in the cartoons she watched as kid.  
  
When she opened her eyes she immediately regretted it, as the sun made her head ache even more. Groaning, she closed them again and tried to sit up in her bed. Her eyes flew open, as a pain shot through her left wrist and up her arm. She was even more surprised to find she *wasn't* in her bed, but was lying in a ditch by the roadside.  
  
After a moment, it came back to her. Something had come through the windshield. Jack had tried to hang on, as the car careered out of control. She remembered it clearly now. They had ended up flipping over into a roll. She reasoned she must have been thrown clear virtually first time.  
  
"Holy Hannah! Colonel!" She breathed, as she scrambled to her feet.  
  
Ignoring the broken wrist and numerous other aches as best she could, she looked round her. It didn't take long to spot the tyre marks in the road, the bits of broken light casing, the snapped saplings and the broken down bushes, some 40 yards up the road. However, there was no sign of the car itself.  
  
Calling out his name, Sam ran the distance to the spot where she thought the car had left the road. To her horror, she found that the verge dropped away to a fairly steep embankment. She could see the car ~ or what was left of it ~ through the trees. From where she stood, there was no sign of her CO. She called his name a few times, but the only reply was her own voice, echoing back.  
  
Taking a moment to size up the situation, Sam then cradled her damaged wrist and as carefully as she could, began to make her way down the embankment.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It seemed like an eternity, before Sam reached him.  
  
She found Jack slumped against his seat, unconscious. Making a check, she realised with horror, that there was a hole in his shoulder. He'd been shot.  
  
Unbuttoning his shirt she took a closer look, and was relieved to find that the round had gone clean through.  
  
`Thank you God, for small mercies. ` She muttered to herself.  
  
Casting trained hands over the rest of her CO, she found that the damage ~ on the outside, at least ~ wasn't too bad. They seemed to be cuts, bruises and scrapes mostly. Sam could only pray that there was no damage on the inside.  
  
Sam searched the car for a first aid kit, and being mindful of her wrist, she set about patching up Jacks shoulder. She had almost finished when a low moan made her look up. She placed a hand on his good shoulder.  
  
"Colonel. Sir. Can you hear me?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"Sir, if you can hear me, I need you to stay still. You've been shot and we've been in a road accident."  
  
Jack's eyes flickered and eventually opened. Sam wasn't sure if he was aware of her or not, but she carried on anyway.  
  
"Sir. I'm going to go back up to the road to see if I can get a signal on my cell phone. I'm going to get help. Okay? Just hang on, Sir."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack could feel his consciousness drifting in and out like an early morning fog.  
  
Every time the fog receded, he thought he could hear Carter's voice. It seemed so far away, yet he recognised the urgency in it. After a long moment, he managed to prise his eyes open to half-mast. It was then he saw Carter's face.  
  
She looked pale and shocked. She was talking to him, saying something about hanging on, staying still. He didn't care for that look and wanted to ask her what had happened, but the words wouldn't come.  
  
*** Okay, Jack. ` He reasoned. `Just chill out for a minute. Let Carter handle this. Okay?***  
  
"Okay," he mumbled to himself.  
  
Then the fog rolled in again  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sam quickly searched the car for her purse and wasn't too shocked to find it missing.  
  
"Damn," she muttered to herself. "It's probably lying somewhere up the road."  
  
She then remembered they were in Jack's car. He was bound to have a cell around.  
  
She came round to the passenger side and looked in the glove compartment. Finding nothing there, she quickly searched her unconscious CO. Then the car. Then the surrounding area.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Slowly. Oh so slowly, an awful thought began to niggle her.  
  
She had automatically thought Jack had been hit by a stray bullet from a hunter's gun. A hunter somewhere deeper in the forest. What if Jack had been shot *deliberately* and the sniper had robbed them and then left them for dead?  
  
She searched Jack and could find no wallet or watch. She then realised her own watch and jewellery were missing too. Then suddenly, it hit her.  
  
"Oh God." Sam uttered aloud. "I have no way of getting help."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Watching her still unconscious CO, Sam tried to decide the best option. She knew she stood no chance of moving him until he regained consciousness at least. Her own injured wrist, and the fact her head felt like a lead balloon, saw to that. She thought about going up to the road to wait for a passing car, but knew the likelihood of one passing after sun down was remote.  
  
Sam considered leaving him to try to find help, but then she remembered that before the `crash`, they hadn't seen a single house or barn for at least ten miles, nor a car for at least an hour. Sam knew there was little hope of finding help before the morning. If she left Jack alone is such a vulnerable condition, he could easily die from exposure.  
  
As the shadows grew longer, she found herself shivering. Most likely it was partly shock, but the air was growing cooler as the sun began its last descent. Aware of how low it was in the sky, Sam reckoned she'd probably lain unconscious for around three hours.  
  
She turned her thoughts to staying warm. The summer in Colorado had been a hot one. The grasses were now parched and it would only take one spark to start a forest fire. However, it was now nearing fall and Sam knew the nights in the mountains would be cold.  
  
She remembered seeing a blanket up on the roadside, that had been in the back of the car. Checking on Jack for the umpteenth time, she started out for the road once more, in search of the woollen treasure.  
  
Once topside, in a moment of clarity, Sam scoured the roadside looking for large rocks and pieces of wood. With them, she laid out an SOS sign on the road. Even if it wasn't spotted from the air, Sam reckoned the idea of having a log rammed through a radiator might be enough to stop a passing motorist.  
  
Feeling a little easier knowing the sign was there, Sam grabbed the blanket and began her descent again. Reaching the car, her heart leapt into her mouth when she found Jack on the ground beside the driver's door. He had obviously regained some degree of consciousness and had dragged himself free.  
  
"Colonel!" She cried, all but breaking her neck, tripping over stumps and roots in an attempt to get to him.  
  
Jack was lying face down on the mossy embankment. Sam arranged his legs and then carefully and gently rolled him onto his back. A low moan escaped through dry lips.  
  
"For crying out loud, Sir. What were you trying to do?" Sam asked, exasperated.  
  
She carefully lifted Jack's head and placed it in her lap. She then took the thick blanket and covered him. Sam grinned when, after a few minutes Jack's eyelids fluttered and a pair of hazy brown eyes gazed up at her.  
  
"Ccarter?" His voice was barely more than a whisper.  
  
"I'm here, Sir." She assured him. "I'm right here."  
  
""Why `m I on the ground?"  
  
"We ran into some trouble, Sir. You were hurt."  
  
"Sort of trouble?"  
  
"Someone took a pot shot at us from the trees. You were hit in the shoulder and lost control of the car." Sam explained. "Sir, they took our cell phones, our cash and cards. All the valuables they could get their hands on and left us out here to die."  
  
"Oh." Jack's eyelids began to droop.  
  
Just as Sam thought he had drifted off again, Jack opened his bleary eyes again.  
  
"Carter. Think we should be getting out of here?"  
  
"Yes Sir, we should, but we cant go anywhere for now. Not till you can stand at least. So we're kinda stuck for a while."  
  
"I can stand." Jack offered, making a feeble attempt to get up.  
  
Sam put a hand on his chest and easily held him down.  
  
"Not yet, Sir. You should try to rest for now. Maybe you'll feel a little stronger come morning."  
  
"K." He mumbled, once more allowing his eyes to drift shut.  
  
"K." Sam agreed, smiling tiredly and running her fingers through his hair.  
  
Sitting there, holding onto her injured CO and friend, Sam looked around the wilderness and remembered.  
  
The last time she felt so alone, it also had been with an injured Jack. Only then, they had been surrounded by huge walls of body numbing ice. At least this time they weren't going to freeze to death.  
  
"Might get eaten by a bear, but we wouldn't freeze to death." Sam muttered aloud, as she carefully lowered Jack's head to the ground. She then shuffled round till she was stretched out beside him. She laid her head on his good shoulder, snaked an arm across his body and huddled in.  
  
"Do you feel a certain amount of Déjà vu, Sir?" Sam muttered, as she watched as the last over sun disappear over the trees tops.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sam came awake with a start as something warm and wet swiped across her face.  
  
Her head pounding, she searched the growing darkness for the source. After a moment, her eyes settled on a large, grinning golden retriever. Sam sat blinking, not believing her own eyes, until a voice carried through on the evening air.  
  
"Rod! Roddy, come on now!"  
  
Sam scrambled to her feet.  
  
"Hello!" She called. "Can you hear me? I need help here!"  
  
For a while there was nothing but silence. Sam called again.  
  
"HELLO! Please, I need help here!"  
  
This time a voice came back.  
  
"It's okay, I'm coming. Just hang on, I'm coming."  
  
Sam almost burst into tears with relief.  
  
A second or two later, three men stepped out of the gloom.  
  
When he saw the mangled car, the youngest of the men gasped. "Oh, my God."  
  
The eldest man got a flashlight from his pack and swung the beam at Jack's unconscious form, then back to Sam.  
  
"How bad are you hurt, Ma`am?" he asked.  
  
"I'm okay," she told him. "But my friend isn't. Please can you help him?"  
  
The older man crouched down. As his flashlight crossed Jack's face, the man hesitated for a second before taking in the bumps, cuts and scratched he had accumulated.  
  
"Christ, Jack. What the hell did you do *this* time?" He muttered.  
  
Sam was taken aback.  
  
"You know him?" she asked, shocked.  
  
"Oh yeah, Jack O'Neill and me go back some way," he replied, checking Jack's pulse.  
  
His eyes fell on the blood soaked shoulder. Carefully he peeled the dressing back, sucking air through his teeth as he assessed the wound.  
  
"How'd he come to be shot, Ma`am?" he asked.  
  
Still surprised, Sam had not expected the man to recognise the wound for what it was.  
  
"Someone took a shot at us as we drove along. They hit Colonel O'Neill; he lost control of the car."  
  
"When was this? Do you know how long you folks have been out here?"  
  
"Sometime this afternoon," Sam confirmed.  
  
The man pulled a first aid kid from his pack. Quickly and with skill, he replaced the contaminated dressing. The using the flashlight, he tested Jack's pupil responses.  
  
"Okay, we need to get him out of here." He said, turning to the younger man. "Too long a hike to manhandle him, Mike. We're going to need a stretcher."  
  
One of the young men nodded and taking his friend with him; disappeared into the gloom.  
  
"A hike?" Sam almost laughed. "You guys are on foot?"  
  
"I'm afraid so. The good news is I have a cabin in these parts. Electricity. Hot water. Food and a more importantly, a phone. The bad news is, it's about a mile from here."  
  
"Okay," Sam replied tiredly, closing her eyes. "I can do a mile. What's a mile between friends?"  
  
She felt hands on her arms. Opening her eyes, the man was standing right in front of her. Even in the fast fading light, she could see the concern in his eyes.  
  
She didn't resist as he helped her sit down on a thick root.  
  
He carefully took up her injured arm and examined it.  
  
"What's your name?" he asked.  
  
"Sam." She answered automatically before realising. If he and Jack went back a long way, then this man was in all probability, a Colonel. At *least*. "Sorry, Sir. I mean Carter. Major Samantha Carter. US Air Force."  
  
The man laughed.  
  
"At ease Major. My name is Piper. Colonel Scott Piper." He then added. " `Retired.` The tall guy is my son Mike, the other guy is my cousins boy, Will."  
  
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, Colonel?" Sam asked, as he carefully splinted her wrist.  
  
"May be almost dark, Major. But it's only just after 20.00. Me and the boys have been out on a hunting/fishing trip. You and Jack are lucky. If we didn't have Roddy with us, we'd have missed you for sure."  
  
"Colonel O'Neill always liked dogs."  
  
"Is Jack your CO?"  
  
"Yes, Sir." Sam grimaced, as Piper finished wrapping her wrist.  
  
"You can drop the Sir, Sam. My name is Scott, okay?"  
  
"Okay, Sir."  
  
He smiled. "Okay. That should hold it till Doc gets a look at it."  
  
"Doc?" Sam repeated.  
  
"Yeah. You're a lucky lady Sam Carter. My wife is a Doctor."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Almost an hour later, the group walked along a narrow road. Sam could see lights through the trees and silently thanked God.  
  
As they approached the house, the outside lights came on. The door opened and a tall, dark haired woman came out onto the porch.  
  
"Dear God, Scotty. What's this?" she asked.  
  
"Long story, honey. I think you better sit down first."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I just can't believe it!" Dr Loren Piper said for the fourth time in five minutes. "I mean, for goodness sake! I know there are some evil people in this world, but to *shoot* folks off the road? And what are the chances of it being Jack O'Neill? I just can't believe it!"  
  
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, next to Jack. Wiping away the last of the blood from his shoulder, she dropped the washcloth onto the tray.  
  
"Thanks, honey." She smiled at Mike, as he moved in and took the tray away, then turned back to apply the fresh dressing.  
  
Sam stood at the foot of the bed, fidgeting.  
  
"Dr Piper, please don't think me ungrateful, but are you sure there's no way of getting him to a hospital tonight?"  
  
Loren looked at Sam with sympathy.  
  
"Call me Loren, Sam." She said. "I'm sorry. The telephone lines up here are pretty hit and miss at the best of times. We can't get Jack to a hospital ourselves, because we don't have a car up here. Scott always gets someone to drop us off with enough supplies to last us the stay. My brother won't be back to pick us up for another week or so."  
  
Sam closed her eyes for moment, nodding. When she opened them again, she found Loren smiling softly.  
  
"If it helps any, I can't find any evidence of internal injuries. You said yourself Jack came to for a while. His pupils are equal and responsive. I think his biggest problem would be infection from the hole in his shoulder, and I happen to have enough anti-biotic to keep him going for a few days. All said and done, it looks like Jack still has the luck of the Irish running with him."  
  
Scott appeared in the bedroom doorway.  
  
"Lines are still down."  
  
Loren felt sorry for the young lady stood before her, who was trying so hard to smile.  
  
"Lets just let him sleep, huh? I'm sure he'll be much better when he wakes up." She suggested.  
  
Standing up, she gently took Sam's shoulder and guided her from the room. "Now, lets take a look at that wrist."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Loren finished wrapping Sam's arm. "Not bad, for an amateur." She winked at Sam.  
  
"I heard that," Scott called from the kitchen.  
  
"You know Sam, I've been thinking. You must have someone who's going to miss you and Jack when you don't get home tonight?"  
  
"I doubt it. We were supposed to be away for a couple of days. We didn't tell anyone we were coming back early."  
  
"Well that's out then," Loren sighed, climbing to her feet, grinning. "Okay. Jack's settled. Your wrist is okay for now. How about something to eat?"  
  
"I am pretty hungry," Sam confessed.  
  
"Okay. Let's go see what the Chef has on offer tonight. He's not bad in the kitchen either. For an amateur."  
  
"I heard that too."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Both Mike and his cousin seemed nice boys. Their banter at the table was light and easy going, and had everyone giggling. Sam reckoned on them being around 17 years old.  
  
Loren had been right. Scott wasn't such a bad cook, but for all she was hungry; Sam found she didn't have the energy to eat more than a couple of mouths full. If she was truthful, her head was pounding more than ever now. She vaguely recognised the fatigue that was washing over her.  
  
So did Scott.  
  
"You okay, Sam?" he asked, noticing the paleness of her complexion.  
  
She looked up from her plate. She seemed confused. Her eyes were hooded.  
  
"Whu..?" She was all she could manage, before slumping forward.  
  
"Whoa!" Scott cried, moving in and catching Sam before her head slammed into the table.  
  
Loren was already on her feet. "Would you bring her through to living room?" she asked, as Scott scooped Sam into his arms.  
  
He carried her out to the living room and laid her gently on the couch in front of the fire.  
  
Loren checked Sam out.  
  
"Pulse is normal, she's breathing okay," she told Scott. "Pupil responses are equal, but sluggish. There's a bump on the side of her head. Looks like our Major has been hiding a concussion."  
  
"If she's anything like her CO, I can believe that," Scott replied. "Will she be okay?"  
  
Reaching up and pulling the afghan off the back of the couch, Loren draped it over Sam's unconscious form.  
  
"Given a good nights rest, I think so," she confirmed.  
  
"Good." He smiled. "I think I'm going to like Major Carter."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack stirred, leaning into the cool, damp cloth as Loren wiped the light sheen from his face.  
  
"Carter?" he breathed. Eyes half open, he tried to focus on the face above him.  
  
"It's okay, Jack honey," she said softly. "You just rest, it's okay"  
  
Jack mumbled something about watching sixes, then drifted away again.  
  
"How's he doing?"  
  
Loren looked up to find her husband filling the doorframe.  
  
"Not so good, Hun." She admitted. "His shoulders infected and he's running a fever now. I've given him an extra boost of broad scope anti biotic, hopefully that's going to help. All I can do for now is try to bring the fever down. How's Sam?"  
  
"Sleeping like a baby," he said.  
  
"Good. By the looks of things, she had a long day. First the funeral, then this. She must be exhausted." She smiled, eyes sparkling. "You do know she loves him?"  
  
Scott's eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry?"  
  
"I said ~~ "  
  
"I know what you said, but what makes you say it?"  
  
Laughing openly now, Loren turned to face her husband.  
  
"Oh please, Scotty. You can't tell me you don't see it! The girl is in love. I could see it the moment she walked in the door."  
  
"And this is called what? A woman's intuition?"  
  
"No, it's called using my eyes. I could see it the moment you brought Jack home."  
  
Scott grinned. "You must be getting old Doc, you're seeing things."  
  
"Is that so, Colonel? Well you just wipe that silly grin off your face and mark my words. We'll see who's losing it."  
  
"Okay. Loser buys lunch."  
  
"Deal, but you'd better be prepared to pay for four, 'cause I reckon Jack and Sam would probably like to join us."  
  
Scott pulled Loren up off the bed and steered her to the door. "Enough. Go get some sleep, mad woman I'll take the watch for a while. I'll come get you if I need to." Giving her a light slap on the backside as she went, he added. "Now go on, get."  
  
"God, I love it when you go all military on me." Loren giggled, as she wandered off along the hallway, leaving Scott grinning and shaking his head.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack felt the fog receding again. This time, as his senses returned, he felt pain. Pain and heat. Who turned up the heating? Struggling with gravity, as he fought to open his eyelids.  
  
When his eyes finally focused, he found himself looking at an unfamiliar ceiling.  
  
` Unfamiliar it might be, but at least it's a ceiling. This has to be a good sign, ` he told himself.  
  
"Hey Jack." A distant, but familiar voice spoke to him. "Are you with me, buddy?"  
  
Jack blinked, as a familiar face came into view. It was several seconds before he believed his eyes.  
  
"Scotty?"  
  
Jack lifted a shaky hand toward his friends face.  
  
"Scotty, is that really you?" he asked, confused.  
  
Catching his friends hand, Scott grinned. "Sure is, Bud."  
  
"Thought I was dreaming."  
  
"Nope, no dreams. It's really me. How do you feel?"  
  
"Like suddenly, I'm not in Kansas anymore," Jack quipped, his eyelids already beginning to droop.  
  
"Doesn't matter where you are for now, Jack. Just that you're safe and you're going to be ok."  
  
Jacks eyes snapped open.  
  
"Carter? Where is she?"  
  
"Sam's okay. She's sleeping. She has a concussion, but she'll be fine. Don't you be worrying, Loren has it all covered."  
  
Jack turned his feverish gaze on his friend.  
  
"Sam?" he mumbled. "You're on first name terms with my 2IC?"  
  
Scott laughed aloud.  
  
"What can I tell you? The good looks are still drawing them in."  
  
"In your dreams, Piper," Jack snorted, a chuckle turning into a fit of coughing.  
  
Bantering immediately gone, Scott picked up a cup of water from the dresser and helped his friend take a drink.  
  
"Take it easy, Jack. Loren will have my hide."  
  
Jack leaned back into the pillow and closed his eyes. Breath caught, he opened them again after a minute or so.  
  
"It's too hot in here."  
  
"You're running a fever," Scott told him, picking up the cloth from the bowl of water and placing it across his friend's warm forehead. "You have an infection in your shoulder. Try and rest now. You'll feel better by morning. Loren said so."  
  
Jack let his eyes close and smiled.  
  
"K," he mumbled, allowing himself to drift away. "If Doc says so."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sam woke the next morning to a headache. Although this time it wasn't splitting her head in two, and this time she felt somewhat human again. She gazed around the room, taking a second or two to remember where she was. She then remembered her CO. She sat bolt upright and immediately regretted it, as the room swung precariously. Clamping her eyes shut, she hung on to the edge of the couch.  
  
"Whoa there. Easy Sam, take it slowly now."  
  
She felt one hand on her arm and another on her forehead. Opening her eyes, she found Loren sat next to her.  
  
"What happened?" Sam asked.  
  
"You passed out last night. You know you really ought to have mentioned that knock to your head."  
  
Sam reached up and grimaced as her fingers touched the egg sized lump on her head.  
  
"Sorry. I guess I was more concerned about Colonel O'Neill," Sam apologised, attempting to get to her feet. "How is he?"  
  
Loren stood up with Sam and hung onto her elbow. "I'm afraid the shoulder has become infected. He developed a pretty high fever during the night, but it has come down a notch or two this morning."  
  
"The lines?" Sam asked hopefully.  
  
Loren shook her head. "Sorry. They're still down."  
  
Sam sighed. "I'd like to see him."  
  
"Sure." The doctor smiled and guided Sam to the bedroom.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The first thing that hit Sam was how still her CO was. The guy was usually a bundle of energy, never sitting still for more than a few moments. Whilst sitting on watch when they were off world, Sam noticed Jack O'Neill never really `rested`. Even when he was asleep, there was always one demon or another waiting for him.  
  
Yet here, other than his slightly laboured breathing, Jack was as still as stone. She also noticed how flushed his face was. A sign that, although it may have dropped, the fever was still present.  
  
As she eased herself onto the edge on the bed, Sam was surprised to see Jack open his eyes. She grinned, as his bleary gaze locked onto hers.  
  
"Hey Carter," he croaked.  
  
"Hey yourself, Sir. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Oh, I've had better days," he said, lifting a shaky hand and scrubbing his face. "Much better days. Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, Sir. Bit of a headache, but okay."  
  
"That's good." He sighed. "So tell me. How in the hell did I end up in Scott Piper's house?"  
  
"With a helping hand from fate and a minor miracle from God, Sir."  
  
"What?"  
  
Well Sir, its like this..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack tried to listen, but was still weak from the effects of infection. By the time Sam had finished her story, he was asleep again.  
  
Loren led Sam through to the kitchen and made her sit whilst she made pancakes and coffee.  
  
"Where are the guys?" Sam asked, settling herself at the table.  
  
"The boys have gone off fishing again, and Scott. Hmm. He's around somewhere. I think he was planning on cleaning out one of the sheds out back."  
  
Taking in the cabin for the first time, Sam was impressed.  
  
"You have a great place here Loren. I'm jealous."  
  
Loren smiled. "Thanks. The cabin was run down when we bought it. Scott and Mike spent a lot of weekends out here, renovating it. It took them almost two years, but they got there. They were pretty proud of themselves, let me tell you. We spend a lot of free time up here now Scott is retired. Will is Scott's cousin's boy. He lives in the city with his parents." The smile disappeared momentarily. "They're having `problems`, so Scott likes to get him up here whenever he can. It's good for him and the kid seems to enjoy it. Gets his mind off things for a while."  
  
"How far back do Scott and the Colonel go? Judging by how comfortable you are with him, I take it you were great friends."  
  
"Still are. We just haven't seen Jack in a while. Not really since his son died."  
  
Sam looked sadly into her coffee cup.  
  
"I didn't know him then, but from what Daniel tells me, he was in pretty bad shape."  
  
"He was. It was such a bad time. Watching him and Sara falling apart like that, it just about broke Scott's heart. He and Jack went through college together. Joined the Air Force together. Heck, they even hit the rank of Colonel together. Jack and Sara were witnesses at our wedding too. When Charlie was born, I don't think I'd ever seen the man so happy. He had everything he ever wanted." Loren sighed sadly. "Then when *it* happened, there was no getting through to Jack. He blamed himself two hundred percent, for what happened to Charlie. He retired from the Air Force, locked everyone out. Including Sara. He spent most of his time in Charlie's room, doing God knows what. If Sara tried to talk to him, he'd get up and leave the room. Then the Air Force managed to persuade Jack to take some top-secret mission. One that would take him out of the country. By the time he got back, Sara had left. Then Jack disappeared again. Scott was out of his mind, thinking he had done something stupid. Turns out, he'd gone off on another job. The last we heard, he was still with the Forces. That he was living somewhere in Colorado Springs, but was more often than not, away on one secret mission or another."  
  
Loren walked to the sink and put her coffee cup in the washing up bowl. She stood for a moment with her back to Sam. Finally she turned, smile back in place.  
  
"Who's Daniel?" She asked.  
  
Sam smiled. "Someone who was in the right place, at the right time."  
  
"Okay," Loren replied, not wanting to push. She quickly dried the dishes and put them away. "It's good to see Jack. Even if the circumstances aren't how I would have liked them."  
  
"I know," Sam agreed. "But *what* circumstances! I mean what are the odds of us being found, let alone by someone the Colonel hasn't seen in years."  
  
Loren laughed. "As I said last night, he still has the luck of the Irish with him."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was early evening before Jack came fully awake again. He was still too hot, but the pain in his shoulder seemed better. Hearing the door creak, he turned his head to see Loren come into the room with a tray. On seeing Jack awake, she gave him a bright smile.  
  
"Hey. Look who's back," she said, setting the tray down on the dresser. "How are feeling, Hun?"  
  
Jack couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. Loren hadn't changed a bit. She was still the same bright and breezy, loving and caring woman she had always been. Scott was a lucky guy, he reckoned.  
  
"Hey Doc. Better," he confessed. "I feel better."  
  
"That's good to hear, Jack." She smiled. "I need to take another look at that shoulder and change the dressing again. Okay?"  
  
"Knock yourself out."  
  
Loren carefully peeled back the old dressing, happily noting that at least the wound didn't appear to be getting any worse.  
  
"Looks like the drugs are kicking in," she told Jack, quickly replacing the dressing.  
  
She reached up and placed a hand to his forehead. "Still some fever there, but it's coming down. You think you could eat something?"  
  
"As long as Scotty didn't make it." Jack grinned.  
  
"Hey, I'm hurt," Scott complained as he came into the room, carrying a food tray.  
  
Loren laughed, and picking up her own tray, headed for the door.  
  
"I'll leave you guys to it" she said disappearing.  
  
Scott set the tray down and helping Jack sit forward, he piled a couple of extra pillows to support his friend. He then set the tray carefully in Jacks lap and handed him a spoon.  
  
"Chicken broth," he told Jack. "Pipers original."  
  
Jack took a mouthful and pulled a mock grimace. "Just like old times."  
  
Scott laughed.  
  
"What did you do with my 2IC?" Jack asked, after taking another mouthful of broth.  
  
"I haven't done anything with her. Sam still has a sore head and Loren insisted she lie down. Last time Loren looked, she was sleeping. She's a stubborn lady. Stubborn like her CO."  
  
Jack just grunted.  
  
Scott watched as his friend tried and failed to finish the broth. "So, Jack. It's been a while. How've you been?"  
  
"I've been good Scotty. Right as rain."  
  
"That's good to hear. Seeing as the last time I saw you, you were anything but."  
  
"That was a long time ago. Things change, I moved on. Water under bridges and all that."  
  
Scott sat down in a chair next to Jack's bed.  
  
"So. What happened, Jack? Where'd you go? I heard old Uncle Sam managed to get his hands on you again."  
  
"Yeah. I was made an offer that, at the time I couldn't refuse. Still working with the Air Force now."  
  
"How's Sara?" Scott asked, without meeting Jack's eye.  
  
Jack sighed. "She's fine. As much as I can tell."  
  
"You guys don't see each other so much then?"  
  
"That's what happens when folks divorce Scotty." Jack let his eyes shut. "We really only meet up on certain dates."  
  
Scott didn't need a further explanation, he knew Jack meant `Charlie` dates.  
  
"I never did get to say it Jack, but I'm sorry about what happened to Charlie. He was a great kid."  
  
Keeping his eyes closed, Jack replied quietly. "The best."  
  
Silence filled the room for long moments. Scott could see Jack weariness, could hear his breathing begin to change. Neither did he miss the way Jack hugged into the blankets. Climbing to his feet, he picked up the tray of half eaten broth.  
  
"I'll let you get some rest," he said. As he turned to leave the room, Jack's voice stopped him.  
  
"Scotty?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Sorry I didn't stay in touch--," Jack mumbled, voice barely audible. "I missed you guys."  
  
Scott smiled sadly, as his friend drifted off once more.  
  
"We missed you too, Bud."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack's fever rose again as the night went on.  
  
Scott watched from the doorway, powerless to help as his friend was over taken by chills so severe, he could hear Jacks teeth chattering.  
  
He also saw for the first time, the sense of loss and remorse that filled Jack, as the nightmares came to haunt him. Sam insisted on sitting with her CO, offering comfort and support, despite the fact Jack had no idea she was there.  
  
Loren came to stand behind Scott. Wrapping her arms round his waist, she rested her face against his shoulder.  
  
"Things aren't going to plan, Colonel," she said, quietly. "I don't like the way his fever keeps spiking. I think Jack's going to need some help real soon. I was thinking, maybe it would be wise to head out for the Richmond's place tomorrow? The lines may be down, but I they have a car. Maybe they would get Jack to a hospital?"  
  
"Okay. If that's what you think, Doc. I'll set out at dawn, should reach the place by early afternoon."  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
True to his word, the first rays of sun saw Scott and the boys getting ready to head off in search of help.  
  
"You guys be careful out there. I don't mind you taking short cuts, so long as you don't end up at the bottom of some cliff. Okay?"  
  
Scott grinned and kissed his wife.  
  
"We'll be as quick as we can. You just worry about Jack."  
  
Loren reached out and pulled his jacket zipper a little higher.  
  
"Oh, Sam's doing enough worrying for the both of us." She smiled.  
  
Standing on the porch in the dawn, watching the tree men walk away, Loren wrapped her arms around herself.  
  
"Hurry back, guys," she whispered, before going back inside and closing the door on the cold morning air.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She walked back into the bedroom. Sam was curled up asleep in the chair beside the bed. Smiling, she gently shook the younger woman's shoulder.  
  
"Sam? Sam wake up."  
  
"Hmm?" Sam mumbled, before coming fully awake. "What? What is it?" She asked, her eyes going immediately to Jack's still form.  
  
"It's okay. He's sleeping. I want you to do the same. Go lie down and get some rest. There's that nice big comfy bed next door, why don't you go use it? I can watch Jack for now."  
  
"I'm okay," Sam insisted.  
  
Loren wasn't having any of it. "Just a couple of hours then. Come on Sam, humour me. What do you say?"  
  
Sam grinned wearily. "Okay." Climbing to her feet, she looked at her sleeping CO. "You'll call me if there's a change?"  
  
Loren nodded. "I'll call you," She promised.  
  
As Sam sloped off, Loren took up her place in the chair. Although his fever had dropped a little, his breathing was becoming more laboured. Aware that Jack was becoming weaker; Loren took his limp hand in hers and unconsciously began to rub her thumb in circles.  
  
"Hang on just a while longer, Jack. Okay?" she said softly. "Just a little while longer."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sam wandered aimlessly around the cabin. She found herself clock watching. Grousing at herself, she wandered back along the hallway to the bedroom.  
  
Loren looked up from her magazine and offered a smile.  
  
"Hi. How are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"I'm okay. I just wish Scott was back, that's all."  
  
"I know. Me too, but the Richmond's place is a good hike. They're probably over half way there now."  
  
"I know," Sam replied, dejectedly. She wandered over and sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
Loren watched Sam watching Jack and a smile spread across her lips.  
  
"How long have you two known each other?" she asked.  
  
"About four years," Sam replied. "We were assigned together for an out of town mission. Given the results of that mission, we've stayed on the same team since."  
  
"So, it won't have been long after Charlie died?"  
  
"About a year. Not long after the Colonel and his wife had signed their divorce papers."  
  
Loren grinned. "Sounds to me like Daniel isn't the only one with timing."  
  
Sam looked up. "Hmm. How do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, you were in the right place to help Jack when he needed it."  
  
Sam laughed. "Noooo, it was the job that got the Colonel back on track."  
  
"Nothing to do with you, huh?"  
  
Sam looked puzzled. "You've lost me."  
  
Putting the magazine down, Loren turned to face her.  
  
"Okay, you want me to spell it out?"  
  
Sam's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to work it out. Finally the penny dropped, her eyes widened and to her horror, her face flushed to epic proportions.  
  
Knowing her reaction had just given away the biggest secret of possibly her whole life, barring the gate, she stammered: "H how did ~?"  
  
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Loren stood up and taking her by the arm, led her into the kitchen.  
  
"Don't be so surprised, Sam. It's written all over your face. A blind man could see there's more to Jack O'Neill than him being your CO," she said, pouring a cup of coffee and placing it down on the table. "Does Jack know?"  
  
Sam hesitated at first, and then thought ` What's the difference now? `  
  
"Yes, but we avoid talking about it ~ at least I do. I think Jack feels awkward too." She confessed.  
  
"Whatever for?" Loren asked, genuinely taken aback, but not enough to miss Sam using his first name.  
  
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Where's the point in trying when nothing could ever come of it?"  
  
Loren thought for a moment, then her eyes widened. "The Military? You're avoiding each other because of the *military*?"  
  
"You're a Colonel's wife, Loren. You know the rules as well as I do."  
  
"I do. And they made no sort of difference to Scott and me."  
  
Sam was stunned. "You mean.?"  
  
"I had just past all my final exams and got a commission at Hurlburt, when I met Scott. He was already a Lieutenant and was making an impression with the boys upstairs. We went unnoticed for just over two years, before I decided I loved my man too much to let my career get in the way. I came out of the forces and took up private practice. We were married within three months. Best career move I ever made." Loren laughed.  
  
Sam shook her head in disbelief. "Two *years*?"  
  
Serious now, Loren met Sam's gaze. "Some things you have to grab while you can, Honey. You may never get a second chance, and God knows if anyone deserves a chance, Jack does."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
For the next hour, Loren busied herself between keeping a careful eye on Jack and doing housework.  
  
Sam on the other hand, continued to wander, having more to think about now than Jack's physical condition. Sitting on the porch steps now, her mind was doing cartwheels. She knew Jack felt the same way about her. He had admitted it to Anise's stupid machine. But she hadn't even dared to think that maybe it *could* happen ~ until now. How would Jack feel about it? Did he feel enough for her, to risk his career by sneaking around like school kids? Did she feel enough for him to do the same? Scott and Loren had managed to keep it secret all that time. God knows if they could keep something as huge and exciting as the Stargate a secret, surely they could handle a little affair?  
  
Without realising it, she began to chuckle to herself. The idea of she and Jack stealing kisses in a storage cupboard, playing footsie under the briefing table or sending confidential memo's to each other and signing with a bunch of xxx's, appealed to her sense of humour.  
  
She was still chuckling a moment later, when the cabin door creaked open behind her.  
  
"Sam?" Loren's voice shook.  
  
She turned to see her pale, shocked face.  
  
"Oh God. What? What happened? Is it Jack?" Sam asked jumping to her feet.  
  
"No. Jack's okay."  
  
"Then what? Tell me what's wrong?"  
  
Loren slowly held out her hands. Sam looked, and for a moment it didn't register what she was looking at. Then her jaw dropped and her eyes widened.  
  
In her hands, Loren held a cell phone and a watch. Sam's cell phone and Jack's watch.  
  
"Oh my God." Sam breathed. "How? Where?  
  
"I found them in Will's drawers," Loren explained. "I was putting his clothes back."  
  
Sam eyes fell on the phone lines on the wall behind Loren. She followed the line, along the top of the windows, along the wall to the corner of the cabin. As the wire went up to the roof, Sam saw the wire had been severed.  
  
"He cut the wires," Sam spat. "The little runt cut the wires."  
  
Loren was still in a daze. "God, Sam. What do I do?"  
  
Anger now replacing the shock, Sam took her cell phone from Loren's hand. "I know what *I'm* going to do."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Scott breathed as sigh of relief, as Ray Richmond pulled off the highway and onto his driveway.  
  
"Loren's going to be happy to see you, Ray," he told his neighbour, as he unbuckled his seat belt. "She'll be itching to get the guy to the hospital."  
  
Ray peered through the trees toward the house.  
  
"Looks like someone beat us to it," he said.  
  
Scott looked up and followed Ray's gaze.  
  
"What the hell?" he exclaimed, when he saw a military ambulance and police jeep parked outside the cabin. "How in tarnation did they know?"  
  
Will squirmed in his seat. Knowing someone must have found the stash, he cursed himself for being so careless.  
  
"Dad?" Mike spoke up. "What gives? I can understand the military ambulance, but why the police?"  
  
"I have no idea, son, but I guess we're going to find out," Scott replied, as two military police officers met the car as it came to a halt behind the jeep.  
  
"Colonel Piper?" The Sergeant asked.  
  
Scott nodded his head, dumbfounded. "What's all this about, Sgt?"  
  
"Sir, we're here to talk to William Piper."  
  
"Will? What for? How the did you people know to get an ambulance out here?"  
  
"Major Carter will explain, Sir. In the mean time, we need to speak to Mr Piper," the Sergeant said, opening the rear door of Ray Richmond's Taurus. As he did so, Will scrambled over his stunned cousin, trying to make a run for it. Only to be caught by another officer who was waiting at the other side of the car. He was quickly restrained and led, protesting to the police jeep.  
  
"Hey, would you take it easy?" Scott cried angrily, as Will was bundled into the jeep.  
  
Unsure whether to stay with Will or go into the house to find out what had happened; he turned to see Loren standing on the porch, close to tears.  
  
"What hell is going on?" he asked, climbing the steps to the cabin.  
  
"I found some things hidden in Will's draw, Scott."  
  
"What things? How did you get an ambulance up here?"  
  
Sam appeared in the doorway.  
  
"With this," She said, holding up her cell phone.  
  
It took a second, but Scott finally got the connection.  
  
"Oh God, you have *got* to be kidding me? He wouldn't ~ not Will. There has to be some mistake."  
  
"We found all the missing valuables. Cells, watches, cards and cash. Scott, I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear this, but everything points at Will."  
  
"How?" Scott asked, frustration and anger building. "How can he have done it? He was with either me or Mike all the time ~ tell me how he had time to do it? Jesus, why would he *want* to do something like that? It makes no sense?"  
  
"Dad?"  
  
Scott spun, as Mike climbed the steps to the porch.  
  
"Will wasn't with me all the time," Mike said. "While you were fishing further down river, he wandered off. He was gone a while."  
  
Before he had a chance to answer, the cabin door swung open. Two orderlies made their way out of the cabin, carrying a very pale and still unconscious Jack between them. Janet Fraiser was right on their tails, keeping an eye on the proceedings.  
  
"How's he doing?" Scott asked, attention shifting to his friend.  
  
"Not so good." Janet told him. "But it could have been worse. If your wife hadn't given him the anti-biotic she had, he would have been in serious trouble. They haven't cleared the infection, but they helped buy time. Right now we need to get him started on stronger medication, so if you'll excuse me, Colonel O'Neill has a date with an IV line."  
  
Sam, Loren and Scott stood back as the entourage made their way down the steps, and watched as Jack was loaded into ambulance. Whilst Janet fussed, Sam turned back to the Pipers.  
  
"Forensics will be out here soon. They'll need to run a check on your guns, to see if they match the bullet in the car seat. The results should come back quickly, one way or the other."  
  
"Where are they taking Will?" Loren asked.  
  
"The nearest police department. I'm really sorry, guys. I wish there was someway I could undo all this," she said, sadly.  
  
Loren wrapped her arms around Sam. "Me too, honey. You take care of Jack, okay? Tell him we'll be down to see him real soon."  
  
Sam nodded her head.  
  
"Sam, we have to go," Janet called from the ambulance.  
  
"Okay," she called back, uncurling herself from Loren's embrace. "You guys let me know if there's anything I can do, okay?"  
  
Loren nodded. Scott struggled to think straight, no longer sure what to do or say.  
  
Sam trotted down the steps and to the waiting ambulance. Settling herself into seat next to the driver, she glanced at the Pipers one last time as they pulled away from the cabin.  
  
"God, Janet." She sighed. "Those poor people."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Utterly despondent, Scott sank down onto the cabin steps. After a moment, Loren sat down beside him. She snaked her arms around his chest, rested her head his shoulder and silently offered her support as, first the ambulance carrying his friend rolled away to the end of the driveway. It then turned right, heading for Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain.  
  
Then the police jeep carrying Will, rolled to the end of the driveway and turned left, heading for Devastation and Heartbreak.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Within three hours, Jack had had every test run, had been pumped full of the strongest anti-biotic and was sleeping peacefully under Janet's watchful eye.  
  
Sometime later, Sam wandered into the infirmary, having showered and (after Janet's insistence) grabbing a few hours of quality sleep. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Jack. Janet looked up from the chart she was looking at.  
  
"Hey," she said, shooting Sam a bright smile. "Feeling better?"  
  
"Much, thanks."  
  
"How's the wrist holding out?"  
  
"It's okay," Sam replied, holding up her plastered arm as if to prove it. Then asked pointedly. "How's *he* doing?"  
  
"He's doing okay. The drugs kicked in pretty quickly, thanks to Dr Pipers help. X-ray shots revealed no fractures, other than that shoulder blade. A concussion and plenty of cuts and bruises to show off, but that's about it. From what they tell me of the car wreck, I really don't know how you guys got out with so little damage. You were both seriously lucky."  
  
Sam laughed. "Yeah, well. Apparently, it's a well known fact Jack has the luck of the Irish running with him."  
  
Janet eyed Sam. ` Jack? ` She thought to herself, a small smile pulling at her lips.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
At that same time, Scott Piper sat across from his cousins' son.  
  
Forensics had done their tests and, like Sam had said, they had been quick to get results. The bullet in the back of Jacks car seat matched the gun being used by Will. The boy's fingerprints were found to on all of the retrieved goods, as well as in the car itself.  
  
There was no denying it now, and the idea weighed heavily on Scott's mind. He had spoken to the boy's parents and was incensed by their response. Both had refused to come out to Colorado to see him. His mother had told Scott, she could do nothing with him and that was always in trouble. His father had merely said, the kid wasn't worth getting upset over and that he wanted nothing more to do with him. He had washed his hands of him.  
  
On hearing that, Scott exploded. He told his cousin, in no uncertain terms, that he was complete jerk and maybe the kid was better off without idiots for parents.  
  
Scott was also ashamed of himself. He should have known something was wrong. He had visited on several occasions. How could he have not seen the life Will had been leading? He told himself he should have been more aware of what was happening in that household.  
  
Loren had argued with him, insisting that there was no way he could have guessed the boy was slowly turning into a hood. They only saw him some weekends. Away from the city. Away from his parents. Will had seemed a perfectly happy, well-adjusted kid who got on with everyone he met. Why would they suspect anything was wrong?  
  
And it was that which was itching at Scott now, as he met Will's gaze.  
  
"Why, Will?" he asked, simply. "Why would you do something like this?"  
  
The kid shrugged his shoulders and continued to meet Scott's eye.  
  
"Oh come on. You *must* have a reason?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"So, what? You just got up that morning and thought, `I'm going to shoot someone today `?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then what? What *were* you thinking?"  
  
Once again, Will lapsed into silence.  
  
Not prepared to let it go, he asked. "Does this have anything to do with what's been happening at home?"  
  
Scott was shocked by Will's reaction.  
  
The boy's calm exterior disappeared, as he shot to his feet and screamed.  
  
"What the hell would *you* know about it? You live up here in your perfect house, with your perfect wife and your perfect son." Will spat the words out like they were poison to him. "Don't even *begin* to think you know me or what I want. Yes!! I shot the guy and yes I robbed him too. You wanna know why? I'll tell you why. So I can get the hell away from one set of morons who hate me and who I am, and to get away from *another* set of morons who think they can make the crap go away, by taking me away on weekly romps through the damn woods! I don't need your charity, what I *need* is for you and your picture perfect family to leave me the hell alone!"  
  
Scott sat stunned for a moment, and then a fury ran through him like a hot wind across a desert. Before he knew it, he had Will pinned to the wall by his chest.  
  
"You ass." He growled. "You blind, stupid ass. You almost killed my best friend because you think we look at you as some *charity* case? You think we want you around because we felt sorry for you? We have you around because we care for and *love* you." Abruptly letting Will go, Scott walked to the door and knocked for the guard.  
  
Shaking with anger and keeping his back to Will, he said very, very quietly. "You got your wish, kid."  
  
With that, he left the room.  
  
He didn't see the shock on Will's face and he didn't see the angry tears that fell, as the kid curled himself into the corner of the room.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Two days later, Sam walked into the infirmary intending on finding Janet to ask her something.  
  
She glanced in Jacks direction, to find him alone for the first time since they got home. Daniel, satisfied his friend would be okay, had been temporarily posted with SG5 and had left that morning for PK2 717. Teal'c, also happy that Jack was making a `satisfactory recovery`, was helping Siler out with something.  
  
Sam smiled, as she noted Jack was sprawled out on top of the blankets, as sound as a top. One leg stretched out to capacity, the other tucked up. His good arm was extended on the pillow above his head, the bad one strapped to his chest.  
  
As she stood grinning, Janet approached her.  
  
"What's missing from this picture?" Sam asked.  
  
Janet laughed. "A kilt and sporran. He looks like he could do one mean Highland Fling."  
  
Both women cracked up, as Janet pushed Sam into her office, closing the door behind them.  
  
"What can I do for you, Sam?" Janet asked, wiping her eyes.  
  
Still giggling, Sam sat down in a battered chair.  
  
"I wondered if you'd let me take a look at a batch of my latest blood works. I'm working on a project and need a sample of something organic to use as a comparison."  
  
Janet nodded her agreement. "Before I get you them, would you do me a favour?"  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Keep an eye on *that*," she said pointing to something behind Sam. "While I go have a word with the General."  
  
Sam spun round to find Cassie sitting on the floor behind Janet's desk.  
  
"*That*?" Sam exclaimed. "What a way to describe this poor little girl!"  
  
"That *poor* little girl, is a monster." Janet retorted, with a grin. "She almost had Teal'c break a leg this morning."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll let Cassandra explain herself," Janet said, picking up a file and heading for the door. "I won't be long."  
  
Sam went behind the desk and sat down on the floor next to Cassie.  
  
"Sooo ~ tell Sam. What happened with Teal'c?"  
  
Cassie looked up at her with a grin. Shy or sly, she couldn't decide.  
  
"He stood on something," she said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"He stood on something and it made him lose his balance. He fell over."  
  
Sam was perplexed. "What did he stand on?"  
  
Cassie didn't answer, but after a second she opened her hand and showed Sam four brightly coloured marbles.  
  
"Oooh." Sam said, trying desperately to stop the grin that threatened to spread across her face. "Marbles, huh? Well, standing on one of those ought to do it."  
  
"I didn't mean to hurt Teal'c. They just kinda ~ got away from me."  
  
"Oh, yeah." Sam giggled, taking a blue marble out of Cassie's hand. "They can do that to you sometimes."  
  
She examined the marble closely, as memories of a lost childhood suddenly began to resurface.  
  
"I used to love playing with these when I was a little girl. I had the biggest collection. I think I may still have them packed away somewhere. I'll take a look, next time I go home. Maybe you can make use of them?"  
  
Cassie's face lit up. "Thanks Sam, that'd be neat."  
  
Sam was still examining the blue marble. "You know, this is a very pretty marble. Do you mind if I borrow it for a while?"  
  
Cassie shook her head.  
  
"Thanks," she said absent-mindedly, as she looked at the marble one last time, before putting it in her pocket.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Carter!" Jack exclaimed. "Where've ya been? Don't you know a guy could *die* in here with no one to talk to, week in, week out?"  
  
"Sir, it's only been three days."  
  
"Yeah? Well it *feels* like weeks. Endless tests, mountains of pills and *honkin* great needles. That woman thinks I'm a damn pin cushion." Jack waved a hand in Janet's direction. "Do you also know Carter, it's against regulations to watch T.V . in this hellhole? They won't let me see any of the hockey games on the sports channel."  
  
"Colonel. We don't *have* the sports channel down here." Janet joined in with Jack's game.  
  
"Even if we did, you won't let me watch."  
  
"No Sir, I wouldn't. Not at three am. You'd disturb the other patients."  
  
"There *are* no other patients, *doctor*!"  
  
"Okay. So you'd disturb *me*."  
  
Jack threw Janet a `look`. "And they call it the `caring profession`."  
  
Janet threw the `look` right back and without a word, turned on her heel and went into her office, closing the door behind her.  
  
While the whole charade was taking place, Sam had sat down at the foot of the bed. Now, as Jack turned to look at her, she was sitting there with a huge grin covering her face.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, you."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yes, you. You can't help yourself, can you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's the same old same old. You get hurt. Janet fixes you up. You get better. You bitch." Sam grinned, quickly adding "Sir." As an afterthought.  
  
"I do not bitch." Jack responded with mock indignation.  
  
"Oh, you do."  
  
"I do not."  
  
"Yes. Yes, you do."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"Not."  
  
"Do."  
  
"Okay. Okay, I bitch! But you know she loves it."  
  
Sam shook her head and laughed vivaciously.  
  
Jacks grin soften to an amused smile.  
  
"You should do that more often" he said quietly.  
  
"Do what, Sir?"  
  
"Laugh like that. It makes your face light up."  
  
Sam allowed herself a small grin, as Jack looked away in embarrassment and quickly asked. "Have you heard any more about the Piper kid?"  
  
The moment gone, Sam fiddled with a click in the blanket.  
  
"Just that the forensic evidence came out overwhelmingly against him," she said, her face changing to one of anger. "I just can't believe he did it. I mean I know he did, but why?"  
  
"Who the hell knows, Carter?" Jack replied. "I remember that kid being around when Charlie was born. He was like the Piper's own son, for crying out loud."  
  
Both were silent for a long moment.  
  
"Scotty will hate this. Having no control over what's happening," Jack said, eventually. "He's going to need some help to get past this. Luckily for him, he has Loren."  
  
"It looks to me Sir, they're lucky to have each other," Sam stated.  
  
"Scotty always was one for luck." Jack laughed. "As my Grandmother used to say, `that boy could fall face first into a cow pat, and come up smelling of roses`."  
  
Sam smiled. "They seem like really nice people."  
  
"Two of the best," Jack stated, solemnly. "They don't deserve this crap."  
  
"None of us did, Sir," Sam said. "Not Scott and Loren, Mike, you or me. When I woke up on the roadside and remembered what had happened, I was so scared. I thought that there was no way you could have survived the crash. I can't remember the last time I felt so helpless. I really thought I'd lost you."  
  
Shocked by her own outburst, Sam blinked at her CO, her cheeks glowing bright pink.  
  
"Did I say that out loud?" She asked, fiddling once more with the blanket.  
  
Jack looked just as surprised, and then he laughed.  
  
"I reckon you might have." He caught and stilled Sam's busy hands with his one.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere, Sam," he told her earnestly. "Not for a very long time."  
  
Sam's face broke into a dazzling smile.  
  
"Just as well, Sir," She said, her eyes sparkling. "Because I would have had to hunt you down like a *dog*."  
  
Jack laughed so hard, he began to cough. On hearing the commotion, Janet came out of her office.  
  
"What's going on out here?" she asked, surprised to find Sam doubled with laughter too. "Sam?"  
  
Sam couldn't stop giggling long enough to answer her, so in the end Janet walked away, shaking her head.  
  
The laughing died down after a few minutes, leaving Jack heaving to get his breath.  
  
"You think you could help an invalid and get me some water?" he gasped at Sam.  
  
Grinning madly, Sam picked up Jack's cup and turning toward the table, began to fill it.  
  
Handing the cup to Jack, she said, "I have to run, but I'll be back in a while. Okay?"  
  
"Sure. I understand. You have better things to do than humour an old man."  
  
"Something like that," she said, as she left the infirmary.  
  
Once outside in the corridor, she sank against the wall, a huge grin on her face.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jack sighed happily. He knew he and Sam were going to have to talk. Putting it off was only postponing the truth. And the truth was he loved Sam and she loved him.  
  
He lifted his cup to take a drink, when something caught his eye. Something small and round and blue, in the bottom of the cup was winking back at him.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Still standing outside the infirmary, Sam looked up to find General Hammond walking toward her  
  
"Major? Is everything okay?" the old man asked.  
  
"Yes, Sir." She smiled.  
  
Just then, a bellow ripped through the quiet air.  
  
"CARTER!!!"  
  
Sam laughed hysterically.  
  
"Everything's fine, Sir," she said and wandered off down the corridor.  
  
~~~~~end~~~~~ 


End file.
